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Canadian Politics

Hey, let's give this a shot! What do other Canadians/anyone else think are important issues regarding the country domestically and overseas?

Election 2015 hype has already started. I don't want to get drawn into the horse race media thing but it will be interesting to see which way Quebec goes in the next election. Can the NDP keep it? Will Trudeau charm his home province, or will the legacy of his dad's role in the 1982 constitution talks be too fresh in people's memory? Can Elizabeth May and Bruce Hyer keep their seats? How will the Bloc do this time around?

One year is a long time in politics. I'm excited to see how it will turn out because it's likely the Conservatives will either be out of office or at least a minority government. That case could lead to a NDP/Liberal collation government, with possible Green and Bloc support. It seems like the parties are already in campaign mode. All the leaflets in the mail and the leaders doing their respective publicity events.

And everyone's favorite: Rob Ford. Turns out he showed up drunk to the football games and practices he coached, was verbally abusive to the players, and at one point made the team roll around in goose shit. What a nice guy.

Quebec mainly voted for Layton and not the NDP per say. I know a bunch of people who voted NDP and when questioned about their program, no one knew what the NPD really stood for.
To be quite honest, I'm still not sure what the NDP is all about on the federal level. They seem to switch stance according to public opinion.

I am not sure if Trudeau will be able to charm Quebecers, his father was not a popular figure with most Quebecers. If Trudeau wants the vote, he needs to do it by convincing Quebec that their only way to get rid of the Conservatives is to vote Liberal. That the votes from Quebec will bring them over the Torries but it won't cut it if they vote NDP. That's the strategy he needs to adopt.

Latest polls in Quebec have both the Liberals and the NDP at 34%, Bloc is at 17% and Torries are trailing at 12%.

I absolutely hate the Torries' foreign policies. We used to be a nation that was focus on peace missions and open dialogues. Not the case anymore.
I completely disagree with Bill C-10.
I disagree with the way the Torries are passing legislation through Omnibus bill, which I believe is unconstitutional.
How many times did the Supreme Court reversed decisions made by Harper and its party? Too many.
Time to go buh-bye as far as I am concerned.

Problem is that I just don't think Trudeau is ready to be PM. Can you imagine Trudeau and Putin talking about Ukraine? I can't.

To be quite honest, I'm still not sure what the NDP is all about on the federal level. They seem to switch stance according to public opinion.

I am not sure if Trudeau will be able to charm Quebecers, his father was not a popular figure with most Quebecers. If Trudeau wants the vote, he needs to do it by convincing Quebec that their only way to get rid of the Conservatives is to vote Liberal.

I absolutely hate the Torries' foreign policies. We used to be a nation that was focus on peace missions and open dialogues. Not the case anymore.
I completely disagree with Bill C-10.
I disagree with the way the Torries are passing legislation through Omnibus bill, which I believe is unconstitutional.
How many times did the Supreme Court reversed decisions made by Harper and its party? Too many.
Time to go buh-bye as far as I am concerned.

Problem is that I just don't think Trudeau is ready to be PM. Can you imagine Trudeau and Putin talking about Ukraine? I can't.

You are right, the NDP seems to change the party stance according to public opinion. They seem overly desperate to hold the next government, which sends me red flags. It's also why so many have crossed the floor or now sit as independents. They really need a solid platform for a few elections to get trust. Otherwise it is another spot where the Conservatives can attack with their endless attack ads.

I think, not being from Quebec so my thought might be really stupid, that Trudeau has the best chance of winning in Quebec. It's true his father is unpopular there but he could easily say that, realistically, the NDP won't win this next election. Voting for him will lead to a Liberal government because it seems like the rest of Canada will go that way. While if the NDP win Quebec again, it could be a Conservative minority government.

It's really fucking pathetic that we have a government passing massive bills that receive little to no debate in the House. Only to have major parts of it amended because they are unconstitutional. Really, only 39.6 percent of the voters supported the Conservatives. It seems backwards that gives them a majority to do whatever they want. Not that I have a problem with having a conservative party. You need all sides represented in a healthy democracy. Just that this one is so corrupt and morally bankrupt, it's absurd. Play by the rules and I'm ok with them.

Trudeau does seem a little immature or naive at times. Like removing all senators from the Liberal caucus. It doesn't do anything, total publicity stunt because the senate is so unpopular right now. As for him dealing with the Ukraine, I don't really see anyone dealing with it. The whole situation is crazy. I like Mulcair the best out of the major leaders. Just don't think the NDP have a chance coming up.

I don't know much about the Toronto mayor race. How is Soknacki doing in the polls?

You mean those fundamentally flawed & biased surveys where they set up robots to call landlines and ask people misleading questions when their guard is up? I don't know what relevancy that has; they're always wrong. Soknacki is having a great week with tons of donations and volunteers flocking to his campaign. He has lots of high-profile mayoral debates coming up, which he will continue to win because he's the only one articulating real policies of value. His AMA on Reddit this week was a triumph. Twitter loves him. Will this translate to a win? I don't know, the election is still two months away. Sure hope so.

I think, not being from Quebec so my thought might be really stupid, that Trudeau has the best chance of winning in Quebec. It's true his father is unpopular there but he could easily say that, realistically, the NDP won't win this next election. Voting for him will lead to a Liberal government because it seems like the rest of Canada will go that way. While if the NDP win Quebec again, it could be a Conservative minority government.

I think it's exactly how it's gonna play out. If Quebec goes NDP, Torries will have a minority government. If we go Liberals, it will surely put them on top of the Torries.
I believe the Liberals need a strong turnout in Quebec in order to form the next government.

Ukraine was just one example. I just don't see Trudeau mingling with the big boys just yet.

You mean those fundamentally flawed & biased surveys where they set up robots to call landlines and ask people misleading questions when their guard is up? I don't know what relevancy that has; they're always wrong. Soknacki is having a great week with tons of donations and volunteers flocking to his campaign. He has lots of high-profile mayoral debates coming up, which he will continue to win because he's the only one articulating real policies of value. His AMA on Reddit this week was a triumph. Twitter loves him. Will this translate to a win? I don't know, the election is still two months away. Sure hope so.

Yeah, those things that had the NDP to win B.C and Wild Rose to win in Alberta!
That was a stupid question

Yeah, those things that had the NDP to win B.C and Wild Rose to win in Alberta!
That was a stupid question

I have nothing against the polling firms that are upfront about their sampling methodologies, consistently work to improve them, and don't misrepresent their findings as anything other than a guess based on limited data... but they're not the ones who do these widespread opinion polls. Our news media have been particularly gullible lately about reporting these without bothering to question their validity, and base their election narratives on fairytales as a result.

I have nothing against the polling firms that are upfront about their sampling methodologies, consistently work to improve them, and don't misrepresent their findings as anything other than a guess based on limited data... but they're not the ones who do these widespread opinion polls. Our news media have been particularly gullible lately about reporting these without bothering to question their validity, and base their election narratives on fairytales as a result.

I read this article a while back about how the media presents polling. I think it was in CJPS but I can't remember the name. If I find it I'll post it, if you are interested.

Yeah, I get what you mean. He doesn't seem mature enough quite yet. But, he did grow up in politics so he could surprise us.

Immaturity? Pure incompetency is how the arch-conservative commenters (avowedly small-c but really big-C cheerleading blowhards-for-hire like Michael Coren) are spinning it. I'm not surprised Justin Trudeau learned all the manipulative glad-handing from his father, yet inherited none of the wit for doggedly uncompromising rebuffs to attacks like this. He's already been torn to shreds in the conservative-leaning old guard of his dad's party by his unfathomably stupid move to pull his Liberal party entirely out of the Senate.

Immaturity? Pure incompetency is how the arch-conservative commenters (avowedly small-c but really big-C cheerleading blowhards-for-hire like Michael Coren) are spinning it. I'm not surprised Justin Trudeau learned all the manipulative glad-handing from his father, yet inherited none of the wit for doggedly uncompromising rebuffs to attacks like this. He's already been torn to shreds in the conservative-leaning old guard of his dad's party by his unfathomably stupid move to pull his Liberal party entirely out of the Senate.

The whole ladies night with Justin Trudeau was really fucking weird in my opinion. I think it was at that event where he said he really admired China. Of course, in context what he said made sense, but it just gives the Conservative Party more stuff to fire his way come election time. He seems to speak before he thinks a lot of the time. He has gotten better at it, but there is still room for improvement.

Where do you guys go usually to get your daily dose of Canadian politics? I'd like a new place to peruse that's well balanced, reasonable and legit. What would you recommend?

Good question. I'm getting it from various newsite like CBC, La Presse (French), Huffington Post.
I glance at the National Post just for shits and giggles but they are definitely not well balanced.
I'm looking for other alternatives as well.

As much as I would love Socknacki to be Mayor I dont think will be able to get the votes.

He is by far the most reasonable but he doesnt stand out in the way that Tory or Chow or the fat man do.

Plus you have to consider the voting majority lives outside Toronto in the burbs and no one that Ive talked to out there even has his on their radar.

We're working on it (I'm a volunteer leader for his campaign); don't write him off just yet. If you'd like to see him be mayor please consider making a donation to www.soknacki2014.com — every little bit helps!

We're working on it (I'm a volunteer leader for his campaign); don't write him off just yet. If you'd like to see him be mayor please consider making a donation to www.soknacki2014.com — every little bit helps!

OK. I just pledged some cash.

What Soknacki needs to win over the blue collars is a Canadian icon who can speak to them in a language that they understand.

Where do you guys go usually to get your daily dose of Canadian politics? I'd like a new place to peruse that's well balanced, reasonable and legit. What would you recommend?

Everything will have a bias. I just get mine from lots of sources. CBC, the local papers are good enough. Sometimes I'll check out Sun News (conservative) and Rabble (left wing) just to see what they are up to. Vice Canada actually has some really interesting articles on a regular basis.

One of the Franklin ships was found. We can all go back to not giving a shit. I guess it's kinda cool but Harper has a creepy obsession with it. If only he cared that much for important things like Aboriginal issues...

'"The Inuit have said for generations that one of their hunters saw a ship in that part of the passage, abandoned and ended up wrecking…. It's exactly where this guy said it was."'

And that wasn't the first place they looked? WTF could have saved six years of searching.